Jug c. 1938

Yolande Delasser's "Jug" is an underpainted watercolour on paper, and it feels like a page torn from a sketchbook. The top part of the page has a jug in pencil outline. Below that, Delasser paints a solid block of brownish colour, within which is a sinuous bird-like form. The block of colour looks like watercolour, brushed on in thin washes, it stains the paper. The bird itself is outlined in a dark grey or blue, with spots within its body, creating a decorative effect. It’s a humble image and yet the lack of showiness gives it a strange kind of power, like it’s whispering a secret in your ear. The painting reminds me of Guston’s late paintings, a kind of rough and ready language, where the form and colour don’t quite line up, and the process feels so intuitive, like one mark informs the next. Ultimately it is the work’s lack of fussiness that makes it so compelling.